H.M.S.Limbourne
was very active in her one year of existence. Even while working up in
November 1942 she escorted the battleship H.M.S.Howe to the
Mediterranean and returned to the UK as escort for H.M.S.Duke of York
and H.M.S.Victorious. She then joined the 15th Destroyer Flotilla based
at Devonport where she was flotilla leader for most of the remaining
part of her career. In January and February 1943 she was to be found
escorting convoys to Gibraltar and North Africa. She entered Casablanca
with the US Navy when they took the port during the North African
landings, working to help clear the scuttled ships left behind.
Following repairs in Portsmouth Dockyard to replace a propeller, she
escorted the French battleship Le Courbet to the Clyde. The next five
months were spent on sweeps off the French coast where she saw action.
She was also involved in protecting light forces and anti-submarine
patrols in the Bay of Biscay. During one of these patrols north of
Morlaix she received slight damage in action with enemy destroyers. She
was eventually lost on 23rd October 1943, the eve of the anniversary of
her commissioning, off the Sept Isles during Operation Tunnel. She was
torpedoed by the German destroyer T22. The torpedo hit the forward
magazine; the resulting explosion blew away all the fore-end structure
below the waterline, from just forward of the boiler rooms and
forecastle deck forward of the bridge. Despite this enormous damage,
great efforts were made to save the ship but attempts under her own
steam or in tow were unsuccessful. At daylight the remaining structure
that was still afloat had to be sunk by torpedoes from our own forces
to prevent it falling into enemy hands. From a ships company of 125, a
total of 40 lives were lost; sadly none of the bodies were ever
recovered.